Chapter 13 of Yechezkel is directed entirely against the false prophets: those "prophets out of their own hearts" who concocted prophecies from their imagination, flattered the people, promised peace, and thereby prevented them from repenting. In the first half of the chapter, the prophet addresses the false prophets, and in the second half, he turns to the women who prophesied out of their own hearts and engaged in sorcery and divination. We will follow the order of the verses according to the commentary of the Malbim.
וַיְהִי דְבַר־יְהֹוָה אֵלַי לֵאמֹר׃ בֶּן־אָדָם הִנָּבֵא אֶל־נְבִיאֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הַנִּבָּאִים וְאָמַרְתָּ לִנְבִיאֵי מִלִּבָּם שִׁמְעוּ דְּבַר־יְהֹוָה׃ - "And the word of Hashem came to me, saying: Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who prophesy, and say to those who prophesy out of their own hearts: Hear the word of Hashem!"
The Holy One, blessed be He, delivers a prophecy to Yechezkel to proclaim to "the prophets of Israel who prophesy." One might have thought this refers to true prophets, so Scripture clarifies: "to those who prophesy out of their own hearts" - those who fabricate prophecies from their own imagination and speak of things they never saw. It is with these that the chapter deals.
As noted countless times: the false prophets closely resembled the true prophets. In their attire - "they shall wear a hairy mantle in order to deceive," in their phrasing, and even in taking portions of the true prophets' words and repeating them. A true prophet would prophesy in the upper marketplace, and the false prophet would repeat those very words in the lower marketplace; when the prophecy was fulfilled, he would establish a reputation as a true prophet, since the people did not know he had stolen the words.
The iniquity of these prophets is immense, for they fall into the category of instigators and seducers: because of them, the people do not repent, and they reinforce the nation in its corrupt ways. The people did not always possess the discernment to distinguish between genuine techelet and counterfeit indigo (kala ilan), between truth and forgery, and therefore many followed them. Thus the Holy One, blessed be He, says: I have a special decree against them.
The Malbim notes the precision in the word haniba'im (the reflexive form of prophesying). It is a consistent principle throughout his commentary: this grammatical form often denotes something feigned or counterfeit rather than genuine. "There is one who feigns wealth (mit'asher) yet has nothing" - this does not mean he truly became rich, but rather that he acts as if he is wealthy. So too, mitnabe: he does not possess genuine prophecy; he merely acts like a prophet.
כֹּה אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה הוֹי עַל־הַנְּבִיאִים הַנְּבָלִים אֲשֶׁר הֹלְכִים אַחַר רוּחָם וּלְבִלְתִּי רָאוּ׃ - "Thus says the Lord Hashem: Woe unto the vile prophets who walk after their own spirit and have seen nothing!"
"Woe" (Hoy) is an expression of pain and grief. The Malbim explains: two things are required of a prophet. First, that he possess genuine prophecy - that a message was truly conveyed to him from Hashem. Second, that the ultimate purpose of the prophecy be to rectify and improve the people. Corresponding to the first requirement, Scripture says "the vile prophets" (hanevi'im hanevalim) - base villainy is with them; Hashem never spoke to them at all.
A true prophet would attain his prophecy through the spirit of Hashem resting upon him, as the Holy One, blessed be He, communicated His word to him. These false prophets, by contrast, "walk after their own spirit" - not after the spirit of Hashem within them, but after the spirit of their own imagination and delusions. Furthermore, a true prophet beholds great visions in his prophecy, which is why a prophet is called a "seer" (chozeh) and "I have made you a watchman (tzofeh) to the House of Israel." Here, however, it is "and have seen nothing" - they beheld no vision whatsoever.
כְּשֻׁעָלִים בׇּחֳרָבוֹת נְבִיאֶיךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל הָיוּ׃ - Like foxes among the ruins have your prophets been, O Israel.
In contrast to the second aspect, which is that a prophet's ultimate purpose is to rectify the people, Scripture states that your prophets, Israel, were like foxes among the ruins. A fox loves breaches in a fence; that is its nature. First, it enters the vineyard through the breach to ruin it. Second, it escapes through the breach when pursued, and it is beneficial for it to have several breaches - so that if they come upon it through one breach, it can flee through another.
So it was, says the Malbim, with the false prophets. The people were spiritually breached, in a degraded state, with no one to build up a wall. Through those very breaches in the people, the false prophets entered and flattered them: "Your path is good, your ways are upright" - and the people accepted their words. Moreover, when caught in their lies, they fled through these breaches: "Look, you said such-and-such and it did not come to pass" - and the prophet answers, "When I said it, the people's condition was better; now they have declined and are no longer worthy." They promised salvation, promised that the vessels of the Beit HaMikdash would return, and when it did not happen, they blamed it on the people's flaws. Thus, the breaches serve them twice: to enter through them and flatter, and to escape through them when their prophecy fails to materialize.
לֹא עֲלִיתֶם בַּפְּרָצוֹת וַתִּגְדְּרוּ גָדֵר עַל־בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל לַעֲמֹד בַּמִּלְחָמָה בְּיוֹם יְהֹוָה׃ - You did not go up into the breaches, nor did you build a wall around the House of Israel, to stand in battle on the day of Hashem.
True prophets do two things: First, they build a fence so that no breach is found among the people at all. Second, in a place that is already breached, they stand in the breach to seal it. And who is the enemy when speaking of prophets? It is an aspect of the accuser, the spiritual force demanding strict justice against the Jewish people. True prophets would stand in the breach, advocate for Israel, pray for them, and turn away divine wrath.
This is what the prophet says later in chapter 22: "And I sought a man who would build a wall and stand in the breach before Me." This is what the Holy One, blessed be He, seeks - a person who will fence off areas so there will be no breach, and if a breach already exists, will stand within it against anyone trying to break through. In the parable of a warrior, explains the Malbim, when a breach opens in a wall, the warrior stands there and fights anyone seeking to penetrate through that gap.
But as for you - you did not go up into the breaches to wage war, nor did you build a wall around the House of Israel. On the contrary, you were like foxes for whom the breach is advantageous: through the corruption of the people you found favor in their eyes, assuring them that their path was right and good. "To stand in battle on the day of Hashem" - through these two actions you could have stood against the forces of evil and the spiritual accusers, either by means of a fence that prevents the enemy from coming, or through bravery in refusing to let him enter the breach. This is expressed in a metaphor, while the application is spiritual: when there is a spiritual breach, it must be sealed. If it is sealed, the accuser cannot bring charges - for if he accuses and his prosecution is accepted, Heaven forbid the entire Jewish people is immediately exiled. You did nothing to prevent the accusation; on the contrary, you corrupted the people even further.
חָזוּ שָׁוְא וְקֶסֶם כָּזָב הָאֹמְרִים נְאֻם־יְהֹוָה וַיהֹוָה לֹא שְׁלָחָם וְיִחֲלוּ לְקַיֵּם דָּבָר׃ - They have envisioned futility and false divination, who say, "The word of Hashem," yet Hashem did not send them; and they hope for the word to be fulfilled.
"They have envisioned futility" - the vision they see is empty and devoid of reality, pure delusions and imagination. "And false divination" - even the divinations they perform to predict the future are falsehood. Falsehood here means something that does not materialize, as in a deceptive brook that appears promising but runs dry. Thus, there is no substance to their words, neither in the essence of what they say nor in their foresight of the future, for in the end, what they predicted never happens.
Furthermore, they attribute this futility to Hashem. They know how a true prophet opens his message - "The word of Hashem" - and so they open in the same way, creating the impression that they speak the word of Hashem. Yet "Hashem did not send them." And since their words possess no reality, neither from their own essence nor from their Sender, how can anyone suppose that these things will be fulfilled? "And they hope for the word to be fulfilled" - they hope they will come to pass, but nothing materializes.
הֲלוֹא מַחֲזֵה־שָׁוְא חֲזִיתֶם וּמִקְסַם כָּזָב אֲמַרְתֶּם וְאֹמְרִים נְאֻם־יְהֹוָה וַאֲנִי לֹא דִבַּרְתִּי׃ - "Have you not envisioned a futile vision and spoken a lying divination, yet you say, 'The utterance of Hashem,' when I have not spoken?"
It cannot come to pass of its own accord, for you envisioned a futile vision. And it cannot come to pass on account of the Dispatcher, for you say, "The utterance of Hashem," while the Holy One, blessed be He, says: But I have not spoken! If so, what are you hoping for?
לָכֵן כֹּה אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה יַעַן דַּבֶּרְכֶם שָׁוְא וַחֲזִיתֶם כָּזָב לָכֵן הִנְנִי אֲלֵיכֶם נְאֻם אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה׃ - "Therefore, thus said the Lord Hashem: Because you have spoken futility and envisioned lies, therefore behold, I am against you, says the Lord Hashem."
You deserve a double punishment, says the Malbim. First, for the very act of speaking in Hashem's Name. For even had he not caused the people to sin at all - a false prophet's punishment is death by strangulation. Even if he commanded a mitzvah: a false prophet comes and says there is a harsh decree and three days of continuous Torah study are required, so everyone leaves their work and sits and learns Torah, wondrous as that may be. If it is later revealed that he is a false prophet - what do they do to him? They put him to death. The very fact that he said, "Hashem spoke with me," when Hashem did not speak with him - that is the falsehood for which he is liable to death by strangulation.
And second, which is far more severe: you are not speaking in Hashem's Name to learn Torah, nor even telling them ordinary things - you are telling them in Hashem's Name to commit transgressions. You use Hashem's Name to anger the Holy One, blessed be He, validating the wicked in Hashem's Name, telling the people their path is righteous, and doing all of this in the Name of Heaven.
Therefore, "behold, I am against you" - here you have to deal with the Master of the Universe Himself, because this touches upon the honor of Hashem. And as the Radak explains, "Behold, I am against you" is like the expression, "And I will set My face against that man," which denotes retribution against that person. Targum Yonatan translates it as, "Behold, I am sending My wrath upon you" - for "face" (panim) can denote anger, as in "My anger shall go, and I will give you rest," and "I will set My face" means My anger and wrath against that man.
וְהָיְתָה יָדִי אֶל־הַנְּבִיאִים הַחֹזִים שָׁוְא וְהַקֹּסְמִים כָּזָב בְּסוֹד עַמִּי לֹא־יִהְיוּ וּבִכְתָב בֵּית־יִשְׂרָאֵל לֹא יִכָּתֵבוּ וְאֶל־אַדְמַת יִשְׂרָאֵל לֹא יָבֹאוּ וִידַעְתֶּם כִּי אֲנִי אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה׃ - "My hand shall be against the prophets who envision futility and divine lies: in the counsel of My people they shall not be, in the register of the House of Israel they shall not be inscribed, and to the soil of Israel they shall not come; and you shall know that I am the Lord Hashem."
There are three punishments here. The first - "in the counsel of My people they shall not be": they will have no share in the inner realm of Hashem's people, which is our Torah and our sanctity, by virtue of which we merit being the people of Hashem. The second - "in the register of the House of Israel they shall not be inscribed": the Malbim explains that they will have no portion in the World to Come, as the language of inscription in the Prophets denotes a portion in the World to Come - "everyone inscribed for life in Jerusalem," "everyone who is found written in the book" in Daniel, "and a book of remembrance was written before Him," which is also what we pray for: "Inscribe us in the Book of Life." The third - "and to the soil of Israel they shall not come": they will have no portion in the Land.
And the Malbim explains: These three correspond to the three precious gifts the Holy One, blessed be He, gave to Israel - Torah, Eretz Yisrael, and the World to Come, which together constitute complete perfection. Eretz Yisrael rectifies the life of the body, the physical, earthly, and national life. The World to Come pertains to the life of the soul. And the Torah is the means by which both are acquired - it is the light and the lamp that illuminates both perfections and binds them together.
יַעַן וּבְיַעַן הִטְעוּ אֶת־עַמִּי לֵאמֹר שָׁלוֹם וְאֵין שָׁלוֹם וְהוּא בֹּנֶה חַיִץ וְהִנָּם טָחִים אֹתוֹ תָּפֵל׃ - Because, precisely because they have led My people astray, saying, 'Peace,' when there is no peace; and when one builds a partition, behold, they daub it with whitewash.
"Because, precisely because" (Ya'an u-ve-ya'an) - the Malbim explains that this indicates a punishment within a punishment, a double retribution: for the act itself, and for the fruit of the act, namely its consequences. The act itself is terrible, and its fruit is that they lead the people astray by proclaiming peace.
And "peace" here carries two meanings: internal peace - your path is upright and wholesome, whatever you do is fine, you are decent and righteous; and external peace - do not worry, the enemies will not come, there will be no wars, Nebuchadnezzar will not conquer you. But in truth, there is no peace.
"And when one builds a partition, behold, they daub it with whitewash (tafel)" - this is an expression that demands careful understanding, and therefore, as is typical of difficult phrases, interpretations abound. One must also ask who is "one" (literally "he") and who are "they." According to the Malbim: the people build a partition (chayitz) - a flimsy divider of reeds, neither a stone wall nor a rampart, but a mere barrier. And the false prophets "daub it with tafel." Tafel refers to an appendage, something attached (nitpal), and Chazal used this term for lime and plaster smeared upon a wall. When you plaster lime onto a stone wall, you reinforce it and cement its stones together; but when you plaster a reed partition, you do not strengthen it at all - on the contrary, you weigh it down, causing it to collapse and break.
This parable contains both an outer and an inner dimension. From the external perspective: the wall alludes to the fortifications of Jerusalem that they strengthened against the enemy, believing he would be unable to conquer it. The prophet tells them: Know that this partition is merely a barrier of reeds, flimsy straw and stubble, possessing no real strength. You plaster it so that it appears solid and mighty, but this is mere flimsy plaster, an appended deadweight that has no power to reinforce the wall.
And from the internal perspective: the wall alludes to the barrier you erected between yourselves and the Omnipresent. It is not merely a wall between you and the enemy, but an iron barrier deployed between us and Hashem, as we saw earlier in chapter 4, an "iron wall" between the Holy One, blessed be He, and the city, and as it is written, "For your iniquities have separated between you and your God." Iniquities constitute a partition; consequently, prayer is not accepted, and the Holy One, blessed be He, no longer exercises His providence as before.
Yet a reed partition still has crevices, allowing one to peer through - as in "My beloved peers through the lattices" - meaning that some hidden providence still remains, even if it is not overt. Regarding this it says: they daub it with plaster. With the plaster they smear, they turn the partition into an opaque wall through which nothing can be seen, thereby causing Divine providence to depart from them completely. They corrupt the people's path and entirely cut off Hashem's providence from them.
There are additional explanations here, all built upon this same foundation of a partition and whitewash. We might mention what the Radak cites: that even "the builder" is the false prophet himself. After uttering untruths, they "daub it with whitewash" - smoothing over their words, just as plaster smooths a surface. They embellish their claims, presenting them as true and explaining how they will materialize. He constructs a partition, and then covers it with plaster to beautify it, as if demonstrating that his words will surely be fulfilled.
The Radak further cites in the name of his father that tafel refers to unbaked bricks. A brick baked in a kiln is durable, whereas an unbaked brick - like an unfired clay jar - dissolves and disintegrates with the slightest amount of water. So too here: at the first rain, everything dissolves. It is entirely flimsy, possessing no strength or durability, just as Targum Yonatan translates: "clay without straw," which cannot hold up over time. Hence, there is no substance to the reassurances with which the false prophets soothe you, claiming that only good lies ahead.
אֱמֹר אֶל־טָחֵי תָפֵל וְיִפֹּל הָיָה גֶּשֶׁם שׁוֹטֵף וְאַתֵּנָה אַבְנֵי אֶלְגָּבִישׁ תִּפֹּלְנָה וְרוּחַ סְעָרוֹת תְּבַקֵּעַ׃ - Say to those who daub it with whitewash that it shall fall; there shall be a torrential rain, and you, O great hailstones, shall fall, and a stormy wind shall break it down.
Say to those who daub with whitewash that this coating is inherently unsustainable and will collapse on its own. All the more so when a torrential rain descends upon it, which will quickly bring it down and wash the plaster off the wall. This is especially true when, in addition to the natural rain, I will send through My providence something supernatural: "great hailstones shall fall" - stones that shatter the wall itself, and beyond that, "a stormy wind shall break" the wall. Thus, there is both a natural element and a providential element at play, and ultimately your plans will not endure; what you envisioned as a source of strength and fortification in the wall will come to naught.
And what are avnei elgavish ("great hailstones")? Rashi explains that they are large hailstones, adding that because they glisten like crystal (gavish), Scripture compares them to crystal - and gavish is a precious stone, as it says in Iyov, "Coral and crystal [will not be mentioned]" (Iyov 28:18). Chazal expounded homiletically: Do not read elgavish, but rather al gav ish ("on the back of a man") - this refers to Moshe Rabbeinu, about whom it is said, "and rain was not poured upon the earth" (Shemot 9:33), meaning that those stones that had begun to descend never reached the ground. And now, "great hailstones shall fall" - what was held back above the back of Moshe and did not descend will now descend and fall.
וְהִנֵּה נָפַל הַקִּיר הֲלוֹא יֵאָמֵר אֲלֵיכֶם אַיֵּה הַטִּיחַ אֲשֶׁר טַחְתֶּם׃ - "And behold, when the wall has fallen, will it not be said to you: Where is the plaster with which you plastered?"
Not only will the plaster fall, but the wall itself. And then it will be said to you: Where is the plaster with which you plastered? For if the wall could not stand, all the more so could the plaster not endure.
לָכֵן כֹּה אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה וּבִקַּעְתִּי רוּחַ־סְעָרוֹת בַּחֲמָתִי וְגֶשֶׁם שֹׁטֵף בְּאַפִּי יִהְיֶה וְאַבְנֵי אֶלְגָּבִישׁ בְּחֵמָה לְכָלָה׃ - "Therefore, so says the Lord Hashem: I will cause a stormy wind to break forth in My wrath, and there will be a torrential downpour in My anger, and great hailstones in wrath to consume."
The Malbim makes a precise observation: there are three expressions here - "in My wrath" (bechamati), "in My anger" (be'api), and again "in wrath to consume" (becheimah lechalah). Why is the final wrath a wrath of destruction? Here we return to a fundamental principle that we have seen multiple times, and the Malbim is consistent regarding it: cheimah is internal wrath, as in "and his wrath burned within him" (Esther 1:12) - something burning on the inside. Af is external anger, as in "for a fire is kindled in My anger" (Devarim 32:22) - for when a person is enraged, his nostrils fluster, turn red, and emit heat. As long as there is only cheimah, the anger remains within and there is not yet an actual punishment; when the af flares, an overt punishment already takes place.
The Malbim explains: af without internal cheimah is less severe, since through the af all the anger is vented and comes to an end, just as we see that when a person vents his anger, he calms down and rests. But sometimes the af is vented while the internal cheimah remains completely intact - punishment is meted out, yet the inward fury still persists. Then, there is no hope, for someone whose internal wrath burns is not satisfied with the punishment and blows he has already struck; the anger continues to bubble within him.
This is what the verse means: "I will cause a stormy wind to break forth in My wrath" - I will cause a stormy wind to burst through, and this stems from the inward wrath. And when it manifests outward, it turns into anger, materializing as "a torrential downpour in My anger" - an overt, external reality, a rain that sweeps over and destroys everything by virtue of the af. And if you should suggest that the King's wrath has at least subsided, since it found expression through af and the venting calmed the internal fire? To this the verse continues: "and great hailstones in wrath to consume" - the internal wrath has still not subsided! Therefore, the retribution continues: the rain itself will freeze and congeal into great hailstones, and through the force of this cheimah, total destruction, Heaven forbid, will follow. For when cheimah does not abate, venting through af is not enough; it continues burning and producing further consequences.
וְהָרַסְתִּי אֶת־הַקִּיר אֲשֶׁר־טַחְתֶּם תָּפֵל וְהִגַּעְתִּיהוּ אֶל־הָאָרֶץ וְנִגְלָה יְסֹדוֹ וְנָפְלָה וּכְלִיתֶם בְּתוֹכָהּ וִידַעְתֶּם כִּי־אֲנִי יְהֹוָה׃ - "So I will tear down the wall that you plastered with whitewash and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be laid bare; and it will fall, and you will be consumed within it, and you will know that I am Hashem."
Here the Malbim outlines several stages. First, "So I will tear down the wall" - the city wall will be breached, and your reliance upon the wall will prove futile. And lest you think this will merely be a localized breach in a few spots: "and bring it down to the ground" - a complete collapse. And lest you think it will only fall: "so that its foundation will be laid bare," in the sense of "Raze it, raze it, down to its foundation!" (Tehillim 137:7), meaning that not even the foundation will remain. And lest you think the walls will fall while the people remain unharmed: "and it will fall, and you will be consumed within it" - the wall will collapse upon those dwelling inside it, bringing upon them destruction, Heaven forbid. And only through this will you know that I am Hashem.
וְכִלֵּיתִי אֶת־חֲמָתִי בַּקִּיר וּבַטָּחִים אֹתוֹ תָּפֵל וְאֹמַר לָכֶם אֵין הַקִּיר וְאֵין הַטָּחִים אֹתוֹ׃ - "Thus I will spend My wrath upon the wall and upon those who plastered it with whitewash, and I will say to you: The wall is no more, and those who plastered it are no more."
The culmination of the wrath we mentioned, that wrath until it is fully spent, will be upon the wall and upon those who daub it with plaster - meaning, upon Jerusalem and upon the false prophets within it, and not upon the entirety of Israel. Upon whom will the wrath be spent? Upon those who misled the people, those false prophets who smoothed over their deeds and convinced them that they could continue in their evil ways. "And I will say to you: The wall is no more, and neither are those who plastered it" - where is the wall, and where are those who plastered it? Where are those prophets who promised you that no trouble would come, that there would be no disaster, and that everything would be fine? They and those who reinforced their words - all of them perished within it, by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. All those who made you false promises will not endure.
נְבִיאֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הַנִּבְּאִים אֶל־יְרוּשָׁלַ͏ִם וְהַחֹזִים לָהּ חֲזוֹן שָׁלֹם וְאֵין שָׁלֹם נְאֻם אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה׃ - The prophets of Israel who prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and who see a vision of peace for her when there is no peace, says the Lord Hashem.
The punishment will fall upon the false prophets because they prophesy concerning Jerusalem and envision for her a vision of peace, thereby causing the people dwelling within her not to repent. The people are not moved by the true prophets, because arrayed against them are the false prophets and the opinion-makers declaring a vision of peace: a new Middle East has arrived. Yet there is no peace, says Hashem. That feeling that blessing and peace are just around the corner lulls them into complacency, and they no longer feel the need to repent. Had they listened to the true prophets - who did not speak such pleasant things, but rather warned that there would be exile, slaughter, sword, and destruction, Heaven spare us! But they did not listen to them. Therefore, those who misled them will pay the price; they are the ones who daub it with plaster, who prophesy to Jerusalem and envision for her a vision of peace - Hashem will exact retribution from them.
וְאַתָּה בֶן־אָדָם שִׂים פָּנֶיךָ אֶל־בְּנוֹת עַמְּךָ הַמִּתְנַבְּאוֹת מִלִּבְּהֶן וְהִנָּבֵא עֲלֵיהֶן׃ - And you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who prophesy out of their own hearts, and prophesy against them.
Up until this point he spoke of the male prophets, and from here he turns to the women. These women prophesy from their own hearts, claiming that the spirit of Hashem spoke through them; they tell fortunes and proclaim that this one will live and that one will die, this one will receive a blessing and that one a curse. All this they perform through sorcery, while claiming that they received these things through prophecy.
וְאָמַרְתָּ כֹּה־אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה הוֹי לִמְתַפְּרוֹת כְּסָתוֹת עַל כׇּל־אַצִּילֵי יָדַי וְעֹשׂוֹת הַמִּסְפָּחוֹת עַל־רֹאשׁ כׇּל־קוֹמָה לְצוֹדֵד נְפָשׁוֹת הַנְּפָשׁוֹת תְּצוֹדֵדְנָה לְעַמִּי וּנְפָשׁוֹת לָכֶנָה תְחַיֶּינָה׃ - And you shall say: Thus said the Lord Hashem: Woe to those who sew cushions upon all joints of the hands, and make kerchiefs for the head of every stature to hunt souls! Will you hunt the souls of My people, yet keep your own souls alive?
The verses from here until the end of the chapter are difficult to understand, and there are several explanations; we will explain them according to the Malbim. They sew cushions upon the joints of the hands and make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature. What is the meaning of this? The Malbim explains: Just as in holiness we put on the hand-tefillin opposite the heart to subjugate the desires of the heart to Hashem, and head-tefillin opposite the brain to subjugate the intellect and thought to the Holy One, blessed be He - so too, in that very form and imagery, do false religions operate. As we have always explained, false prophets, and down to this day Christianity and Islam, copy that which exists in holiness and mimic it in order to draw the hearts of the masses.
And so did these sorceresses: they would sew a kind of cushion or cloth and bind it onto the joints of the hand, meaning on the arm, in the very place of the hand-tefillin. Upon it, they would cast a form of sorcery designed to act upon the heart. In doing so, they would entrap the living souls of the people and the power of their hearts so that they fell captive under their sway. The people were drawn into promiscuity, illicit desires, and evil pursuits through the power of this sorcery, emanating from that object placed opposite the heart. What the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded us to place opposite the heart to subjugate our desires to holiness - they did the exact opposite, placing sorcery opposite the heart to enslave the heart to promiscuity and evil desires.
Correspondingly, they made kerchiefs upon the head of every stature: these are, in the words of the Radak, a type of kerchief tied on the head, corresponding to the head-tefillin placed opposite the brain where the faculty of thought resides. The objective was to tilt their thoughts toward idolatry, heresy, and the denial of faith in the one God, and thereby gain control over their power of thought.
Regarding the first part, where they sought to dominate the desires of the heart, the verse says: "Will you hunt the souls of My people" - is it truly in your power to ensnare the souls of My people under your domain? And what is the aim? "Yet keep your own souls alive" - that as a reward for your deeds, you sustain yourselves with food and livelihood. For that is the entire purpose of sorcerers and diviners: to acquire money, to sustain their own lives.
Radak explains that through the power of these actions, they would decree life upon the wicked and death upon the righteous. Concerning this, the prophet tells them: Can you truly, through your words, decree life for this one and death for that one? Are the souls of My people in your hands to destroy or to preserve? And so Targum Yonatan renders: "Can you not even keep your own souls alive?" - your own souls you are unable to sustain, yet with the mere breath of your mouth you wish to decree who shall live and who shall die?
וַתְּחַלֶּלְנָה אֹתִי אֶל־עַמִּי בְּשַׁעֲלֵי שְׂעֹרִים וּבִפְתוֹתֵי לֶחֶם לְהָמִית נְפָשׁוֹת אֲשֶׁר לֹא־תְמוּתֶנָה וּלְחַיּוֹת נְפָשׁוֹת אֲשֶׁר לֹא־תִחְיֶינָה בְּכַזֶּבְכֶם לְעַמִּי שֹׁמְעֵי כָזָב׃ - "And you have profaned Me among My people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to put to death souls that should not die, and to keep alive souls that should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies."
You drag the holiness of My Name into the profane. Previously, the prophet spoke of the sorceries placed opposite the heart, regarding which he said, "and will you keep souls alive for yourselves?" Now he speaks of the kerchiefs placed opposite the brain, through whose power My Name is profaned. And for what? "For handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread." A sho'al (handful) is the measure of a closed fist, as in the verse, "Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand (be-sho'alo) and calculated the heavens with the span?" For the petty gain of a palmful of barley and pieces of bread given to you, you are willing to put to death souls that should not die.
"To put to death souls" - literal death of the soul: through the effect of the kerchiefs on the head, they would distort the power of thought, the intellect, bringing people to heresy, which is the death of the soul. And according to the second explanation mentioned earlier, that they prophesied that the souls of the righteous would die and the wicked would live - you decree death upon one for whom death was not decreed, "and to keep alive souls that should not live," decreeing life for one for whom life was not decreed.
And all this "by your lying to My people who listen to lies": through deceitful words and false beliefs, as the people accept your words, and through this the wicked draw encouragement and vitality - feeling they can continue in their corrupt ways - while the righteous person falls into despair and death, Heaven forbid, seeing, as it were, that his good deeds do not help or benefit him. For the practices of these sorceresses and diviners made it appear as though there were no truth in the service of Hashem, and that one should instead cling to falsehood.
לָכֵן כֹּה־אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה הִנְנִי אֶל־כִּסְּתוֹתֵיכֶנָה אֲשֶׁר אַתֵּנָה מְצֹדְדוֹת שָׁם אֶת־הַנְּפָשׁוֹת לְפֹרְחוֹת וְקָרַעְתִּי אֹתָם מֵעַל זְרוֹעֹתֵיכֶם וְשִׁלַּחְתִּי אֶת־הַנְּפָשׁוֹת אֲשֶׁר אַתֶּם מְצֹדְדוֹת אֶת־נְפָשִׁים לְפֹרְחֹת׃ - "Therefore, so says the Lord Hashem: Behold, I am against your cushions with which you hunt souls to make them fly, and I will tear them from your arms, and I will let go the souls that you hunt - souls that fly."
Regarding the cushions they placed upon the arms, He says: Behold, I am against your cushions, and I will tear them from your arms, and I will release the souls you have hunted. And what is the meaning of "souls to make them fly" (nefashim le-forechot)? The Malbim explains: you hunt human souls and transfer them to the forces of impurity, which are termed "flying spirits" - souls of demons and damaging entities that have no physical body, but rather fly about. You take the souls of human beings and deliver them into the hands of the forces of impurity and the Sitra Achara (the "other side"), so that they belong to their domain rather than to the realm of holiness and the service of Hashem.
וְקָרַעְתִּי אֶת־מִסְפְּחֹתֵיכֶם וְהִצַּלְתִּי אֶת־עַמִּי מִיֶּדְכֶן וְלֹא־יִהְיוּ עוֹד בְּיֶדְכֶן לִמְצוּדָה וִידַעְתֶּן כִּי־אֲנִי יְהֹוָה׃ - "And I will tear your kerchiefs and rescue My people from your hand, and they shall no longer be in your hand as prey, and you shall know that I am Hashem."
After stating what He will do with the cushions on the arm, He now addresses those on the head: I will tear your kerchiefs which you placed on the head of every stature. And through the tearing away of both cushions and kerchiefs, I will rescue My people from your hand, since it was through these devices that they fell into false beliefs, and through them you gained control over their power of thought. "And they shall no longer be in your hand as prey" - you will no longer be able to hunt them, "and you shall know that I am Hashem," and all will recognize His Divinity, blessed be He.
יַעַן הַכְאוֹת לֵב־צַדִּיק שֶׁקֶר וַאֲנִי לֹא הִכְאַבְתִּיו וּלְחַזֵּק יְדֵי רָשָׁע לְבִלְתִּי־שׁוּב מִדַּרְכּוֹ הָרָע לְהַחֲיֹתוֹ׃ - "Because you have grieved the heart of the righteous falsely, when I did not cause him grief, and strengthened the hands of the wicked so that he does not turn from his evil way, to keep him alive."
"Hakh'ot" (saddening/paining) is from the root of pain (ke'ev), as in "broken of heart" (venikh'eh levav). You strike the heart of the righteous with falsehood: you terrify him with your divinations and sorceries that evil will befall him, claiming that this was conveyed to you in prophecy from Hashem - yet the Holy One, blessed be He, says: I did not pain him; this is not from Me, and I never transmitted such a thing to you. Meanwhile, you encourage the wicked not to turn back from his evil path, promising him life and blessing in his corrupt ways.
לָכֵן שָׁוְא לֹא תֶחֱזֶינָה וְקֶסֶם לֹא־תִקְסַמְנָה עוֹד וְהִצַּלְתִּי אֶת־עַמִּי מִיֶּדְכֶן וִידַעְתֶּן כִּי־אֲנִי יְהֹוָה׃ - Therefore, you shall no longer envision falsehood, nor practice divination anymore; and I will rescue My people from your hand, and you shall know that I am Hashem.
From now on, you will no longer see false visions or practice divination, and through this My people will be saved from your hand, and you will know that I am Hashem.
This chapter teaches how grave is the sin of those who flatter the people in the name of Heaven. The false prophets possessed neither the spirit of Hashem nor true vision; they followed their own imaginations and were like foxes among the ruins - entering through the breaches of the people and flattering them, and fleeing through those same breaches when their words failed to materialize, instead of building a fence, standing in the breach, and turning back wrath. For this, three punishments were decreed upon them corresponding to the three precious gifts: Torah, Eretz Yisrael, and the World to Come. Their promises of peace were like a flimsy reed partition coated in whitewash, which is washed away by torrential rain and battered by stormy winds and hailstones, until the wall collapses to its very foundation. And in the second half of the chapter - the women prophesying from their own hearts, who mimicked the tefillin with cushions on the arm and kerchiefs on the head in order to subjugate the heart to desire and the mind to heresy; and for handfuls of barley and morsels of bread, they desecrated Hashem's Name, pained the heart of the righteous, and strengthened the hands of the wicked. Against them all, the Holy One, blessed be He, promises: "I will tear them away, and I will rescue My people from your hand, and you shall know that I am Hashem."